Haftará Vaera Rav Yehuda Shaviv

 

YESHIVAT HAR ETZION

ISRAEL KOSCHITZKY VIRTUAL BEIT MIDRASH (VBM)

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THE WEEKLY HAFTORA

By Rav Yehuda Shaviv

 

HAFTORA PARASHAT VA'ERA

The Redemption from Egypt (Yehezkel 28:25 – 29:21)

 

 

a.  A Parsha of Redemption

 

We find that the haftora is divided into three parts: the first (28:25-26) may be an independent unit or it may be a continuation of the prophecy about Tzidon, but either way it is not directly connected to the pesukim which follow. The central part (29:1-15) is the prophecy concerning Egypt, and the last part is a separate prophecy but also related to Egypt; its subject is the repayment for the actions of Nevukhadratzar in Tzor. The selection of a prophecy dealing with Egypt and the plagues as the haftora for Parashat Va'era is obvious, but we are left with the question of why the first two pesukim were also included, since they do not appear to be in any way connected with Egypt.

 

It seems that these two pesukim about the redemption of Israel are included in order to draw our attention to the fact that Parashat Va'era is, first and foremost, a parsha about redemption. The awesome and frightening plagues are no more than tools that spur the process on. Indeed, our parsha – more than any other – depicts the redemption as it unfolds: "And I shall also uphold My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan... For I have also heard the cry of Bnei Yisrael... and I have remembered My covenant... And I shall take you out from under the burden of Egypt, and I shall deliver you from their servitude and I shall redeem you with an outstretched arm... and I shall take you to Me for a people, and I shall be your God, and you will know that I am the Lord your God who takes you out from under the burdens of Egypt... and I shall bring you to the land... and I shall give it to you as a heritage..." (6:4-8).

 

The haftora, which opens with the redemption of Israel and concludes with the redemption of Israel ("On that day I shall make the horn of the house of Israel sprout forth..." – 29:21) teaches us that this redemption is the purpose of all these events. But there is a difference between the two redemptions. The redemption from Egypt involved getting the entire nation out of one country of exile, while the future redemption will require the gathering of the house of Israel "from the NATIONS among which they were scattered." But even if the exile and dispersion have extended far and wide, the first redemption will always serve as the model for future redemption: just as in the first instance God brought judgment upon their oppressors, so in the future "I shall execute judgment upon all those that disdain them around them." (28:26)

 

b.  The Purpose of Redemption

 

While the redemption from Egypt serves to teach us about future redemption, the reverse is also true. Just as the purpose of the future redemption is the sanctification of God in the world – "And I shall be sanctified in them in the eyes of the nations" – so too the purpose of the redemption from Egypt was likewise that God would thereby be sanctified in the eyes of the nations in general, and in the eyes of the Egyptians in particular. Indeed, this idea is given explicit expression in the parsha just before the plague of hail: "Indeed it is for this purpose that I have raised you up, in order that you may show My power, and in order that My name be proclaimed throughout the land" (9:16). Even prior to this Moshe is told, "And Egypt shall know that I am God, when I stretch My hand out over Egypt." (7:5) Hence the plagues are not just a vehicle to speed up the departure of Israel from Egypt. They have a purpose in their own right; a purpose similar to that of the redemption itself: to make God's name known in the world, and to demonstrate His power to the Egyptians and the other nations. This purpose is expressed several times in the haftora: in the beginning with regard to the nations in general, and further on with regard to Egypt in particular

 

c.  The Egyptians Shall Know

 

What unique feature characterizes the Egyptians among all the other nations, such that this message is directed primarily towards them? The pesukim of the prophecy explain: "So says God... Behold, I am against you, Paro king of Egypt, the great crocodile that lies within his streams, whwo has said, 'My river is mine and I have made it for myself.'" (29:3) Paro's audacious pride reaches destructive proportions when he compares himself to the Omnipotent Creator. He believes himself independent of any outside heavenly entity; his needs are continually taken care of, and he can entertain himself with thoughts of his own exclusive rule, with all subservient to him.

 

This theme does not appear in the parsha, but the words of the haftora may explain Paro's refusal to follow God's command to let the nation go. His stubbornness is easier to understand if we see the situation as a battle between the Supreme God and someone who fancies himself as a god.

 

And what applies to Paro in his personal capacity applies equally to the Egyptians as a nation, for they seem to suffer collectively from the same illusion of grandeur as their king: "...Set your face against Paro king of Egypt and prophesy against him and against all of Egypt" (29:2). Therefore it is important to make all of Egypt recognize God: "And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am God." (29:6); "And the land of Egypt shall be desolate and waste, and they shall know that I am God." (29:9). Indeed, our prophecy closes with the words, "And they shall know that I am the Lord God."

 

d.  Completion of the Redemption from Egypt

 

The narrative in Sefer Shemot indicates that with Israel's departure from Egypt, the Egyptian exile came to an end. This is certainly true of the physical exile, but there is some doubt as to whether it applies to their psychological exile as well.

 

Hundreds of years of harsh and bitter labor turned the nation of Israel not only into laborers, but into slaves –completely dependent on Egypt and the Egyptians. This dependence was very deeply rooted in the national psyche, such that even many years after the exodus its negative consequences were still recognizable. Even when they became a sovereign entity in their own land, they turned to Egypt at the first sign of any external threat, seeking the patronage and assistance of their former taskmaster.

 

It is most likely for this very reason that the Torah warns us not to return to Egypt - and not to collect too many horses for the imperial chariots, which would provide an excuse to go back there. In order for there to be a psychological break with Egypt, there must first be a physical break, and in the course of time the complete break will bring about the completion of the redemption. But it is only when Egypt becomes "desolation and waste" (29:9) and "desolate in the midst of waste lands, and her cities                                 desolate among ruined cities" (29:12), that everyone will know and recognize that Egypt is nothing but a broken reed, "and it shall no longer be a haven for the house of Israel, a remembrance to their sin when they shall turn after them. And they shall know that I am God..." (29:16). At that time the redemption from Egypt will be complete – the redemption whose plan is set out in Parashat Va'era.

 

e.  Redemption from Egypt – the Significance of Redemption

 

This concept is generally understood as referring to the redemption of Israel from Egyptian slavery, but in Yechezkel's prophecy mention is also made of the future redemption OF Egypt. After the land of Egypt is completely laid waste and her cities destroyed, and after "I will scatter Egypt among the nations and will disperse them throughout the lands", the era of redemption for Egypt herself will arrive: "For so says God... at the end of forty years I will gather Egypt from the nations where they were scattered. And I shall bring back the captivity of Egypt and I shall return them to the land of Patros, into the land of their origin" (29:12-14). Just as Israel are redeemed, i.e. that they return to their land after forty years, so shall the Egyptians return and rebuild Egypt. This is the redemption of Egypt. And what is the nature of the renewed Egyptian kingdom? "And they shall be there an abject kingdom. It shall be the most abject of the kingdoms, and it shall not exalt itself any more over the nations, for I shall diminish them so they shall no longer rule over the nations." (29:14-15) How can this "abject kingdom" be considered "redeemed"? A profound and important principle of redemption is to be learned here. Redemption for a nation means bringing that nation to its proper proportions. An enslaved nation requires redemption, but the nation which enslaves them is also in a state of "exile". It is not normal or natural to be an oppressor, to bind others against their will. The return of Egypt teaches us about the significance of redemption: redemption means the return to proper and natural proportions, no more and no less.

 

f.  Thereafter They Shall Leave With Great Bounty

 

It remains for us to discover why the last portion of the haftora was included – the portion dealing with the future payment to Nevuchadretzar king of Babylon. In and of itself this portion is surprising: since Nevuchadretzar received no reward from Tzor for the work he performed there, he is to receive a reward from Egypt. But what does Egypt have to do with Tzor? And furthermore, why should he receive any reward at all, considering that he did what he did on his own initiative and for his own profit rather than for the good of Tzor?

 

We can never fathom the ways of Divine Providence and the way in which events unfold and arrange themselves in this world. But one lesson does arise from this prophecy: labor does not remain uncompensated. Sometimes the payment is direct and and obvious, other times it is indirect and hidden – but always there is compensation for labor.

 

And from here we understand the reward concerning which Bnei Yisrael are commanded in Egypt. For if reward is given even for work performed voluntarily, for one's own gain – like that of Nevuchadretzar – then how much more appropriate is compensation for labor performed against the will of the laborer and in the interests of his employer rather than for his own gain. Therefore before leaving Egypt Bnei Yisrael must ask their Egyptian neighbors for vessels of silver and gold, and this serves as some repayment for their prolonged servitude in Egypt. This is extremely significant, for complete redemption also includes an element of justice being performed, and so long as no payment has been made for labor – not even a symbolic compensation – justice has not been done.

 

The awarding of the Egyptian bounty to Nevuchadretzar as reward for his labor in Tzor may be seen as the closing of a circle that started with the bitter and difficult servitude of Bnei Yisrael in Egypt. Despite the great bounty with which Bnei Yisrael left Egypt, their servitude had not yet been compensated in full, and Egypt was still indebted to them. Now Nevuchadretzar acts, as it were, as God's emissary to be a staff of wrath among the rebellious nations, to demand repayment by force. And from where? From the nation which still has an outstanding debt – Egypt.

 

haftara shemot

 

The Sephardic Choice for the Haftarah of Parshat Shemot

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It seems odd, at first glance, that Sephardim read the first perek of Yirmiyahu as the haftarah for Parshat Shemot. After all, this very haftarah is read at the height of the summer to kick off a series of three grim haftarot (the Telata d’Puranuta) read during Bein haMetzarim, the three weeks between Shiva Asar B’Tamuz and Tisha B’Av. Why is this same haftarah read by Sephardic Jews both in the middle of the summer and the deepest frost of winter? This question was asked by members of Congregation Shaarei Orah, the Sephardic Congregation of Teaneck, this past Shabbat and was addressed in a Sunday morning shiur the next day.

Yirmiyahu Perek 1 is the natural choice to read in the time leading up to Tisha B’Av. Yirmiyahu is informed by Hashem of the impending disaster of the Churban Beit Hamikdash. Yirmiyahu was chosen to serve as the official Navi of Churban Bayit Rishon. Yirmiyahu Perek 1 is also a very fitting mei’ein haparshah (parallel) to Parshat Shemot. Both present the story of Hashem’s initial informing of a Navi of his role of service for the Jewish people. Yirmiyahu haNavi is extremely reluctant to take this responsibility, especially since he knows that the message of the Churban is a very unpleasant one, which will be met with great hostility. Moshe Rabbeinu, as well, was highly reluctant to accept Hashem’s appointment as the Navi of Yetziat Mitzrayim.

The parallel, however, seems to end there. Moshe Rabbeinu was chosen to redeem Bnei Yisrael from Egypt and Yirmiyahu was appointed to do the very opposite—transition the Jewish people to a time of Galut and Churban (perhaps this is why both Teimanim—Yemenite Jews—and Ashkenazim do not read from Yirmiyahu Perek 1 for the haftarah of Parshat Shemot).

The answer might be as follows: The Midrash articulates the approach that when Moshe Rabbeinu insists “Shelach na b’yad Tishlach,” send a different Navi to redeem the Jews, it is referring not to Aharon as is most commonly understood, but rather to none other than Eliyahu haNavi! Moshe Rabbeinu, according to this Midrash, is unwilling to redeem the Jewish people for a temporary redemption that will culminate in the Churban described in Yirmiyahu Perek 1. Thus, the haftarah of Yirmiyahu Perek 1 explains why Moshe Rabbeinu stubbornly refused Hashem’s designation as a redeemer. Moshe Rabbeinu wanted the ultimate redemption to come, not for merely a temporary respite from suffering.

Parshat Shemot, in turn, sheds important light on Yirmiyahu Perek 1. Yirmiyahu is appointed not only to proclaim the Churban (l’ha’avid u’leharos”), but also to prepare the groundwork for the Geulah (livnot v’linto’a). Yirmiyahu famously proclaims “V’Shavu vanim ligvulam,” the children shall return to their borders, predicts at the height of the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem that Yerushalayim will reemerge as an area of most desired real estate (a prophecy which has been most resoundingly fulfilled in our time) and that it will be redeemed 70 years after the Churban (the Beit Hamikdash was completed in 516 B.C.E., 70 years after its destruction in 586 B.C.E). Connecting Yirmiyahu Perek 1 with Parshat Shemot expresses the point that just as Moshe Rabbeinu was appointed as the herald of Yetziat Mitzrayim, so, too, Yirmiyahu is not only the official Navi of the Churban but also the Navi of the eventual Geulah as well (of which we hopefully are witnessing its “reshit tzemichat geulateinu” the beginning of the flowering of our salvation, in our time).

Thus, what appears to be a most inapt connection between the haftarah choice and Parshat Hashavua is actually a deep and moving lesson that emerges from the synergistic relationship between Parshat Shemot and Yirmiyahu Perek 1. Perek 1 of Yirmiyahu sheds light on Parshat Shemot, and Parshat Shemot directs us to a proper perspective on Yirmiyahu Perek 1. Shemot Perek 1 and Yirmiyahu are thus a paradigmatic example of how the Torah reading and haftarah complement each other.

Rabbi Haim Jachter is spiritual leader of Congregation Shaarei Orah, the Sephardic Congregation of Teaneck.

By Rabbi Haim Jachter

By Rabbi Haim Jachter | January 07, 2016

PARASHA VAIEJÍ

 Parasha Vayejí

YESHIVAT HAR ETZION

ISRAEL KOSCHITZKY VIRTUAL BEIT MIDRASH (VBM)

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INTRODUCTION TO PARASHAT HASHAVUA

 

PARASHAT VAYECHI

 

Ya'acov's Reassurance

By Rav Michael Hattin

 

 

INTRODUCTION

 

Ya'acov dwelt in Egypt for seventeen years, and the days of Ya'acov's lifetime, the years of his life, were one hundred and forty-seven.  Ya'acov's death drew near…

 

With the death of Ya'acov and his burial at Machpela, the Book of Bereishit is effectively completed.  The lengthy saga of Yosef and his brothers that had animated the final third of the book is thus neatly concluded, with the satisfying story of the family's reunion and rapprochement.  Before his death, Ya'acov summons his beloved Yosef, later still Yosef with his children, and finally his other sons in turn.  In the first encounter with Yosef, Ya'acov exacts a pledge from his politically powerful son to bear his remains back to Canaan and to inter them in the family sepulcher at the Cave of Machpela.  At all costs, Ya'acov does not want his bones to be interred in foreign soil.  Not only is this an expression of Ya'acov's personal preference to be laid to rest with his ancestors, namely his parents and grandparents, but also a deliberate declaration to his children – some of whom no doubt dream of building successful and stable lives for themselves in fertile Goshen, shielded from harm under Yosef's protective wings.  The sojourn in Egypt is but a phase, Ya'acov seems to say, its glittering blandishments illusory, but our permanent home and, with it, our ultimate mission as a people, await us back among the rocky hills of Canaan.

 

 

THE SECOND SUMMONS

 

Ya'acov then summons Yosef a second time, as sickness saps his strength and mortality stares him in the face.  Recounting to his son God's promise that He would fashion a nation from his descendents, Ya'acov extends his blessing to Yosef and then proclaims the latter's two sons, Menashe the older and Efraim the younger, as tribes.  Henceforth, the tribes of Israel will number thirteen, for Yosef's two sons will be counted among them and will eventually secure a dual inheritance of land in consequence.  Placing his hands upon Menashe and Efraim, Ya'acov then blesses the lads with Divine protection and success.  But prophetically sensing that the younger will outshine the older, Ya'acov crowns the head of Efraim with his right hand, while placing his left upon Menashe.  He concludes with an invocation of words of grace that to this day are recited in the Jewish home on the Sabbath eve: "May God make you as Efraim and Menashe" (48:20).  Turning to Yosef, he reminds him that God's promise will be fulfilled: He will restore them to their ancestral home in Canaan, and there Yosef's special tribal status will be confirmed: "Yisrael said to Yosef: behold, I now die, but the Lord will be with you and will return you to the land of your forefathers.  As for me, I gave you a measure ("shechem" in the original Hebrew) more than your brothers, that which I seized from the Amorites with my sword and with my bow!" (48:21-22).

 

While the primary thrust of Ya'acov's words is straightforward enough, this final phrase is unusually cryptic.  Clearly, the context speaks of Efraim the younger surpassing Menashe the older, of restoration to Canaan, and then of Yosef's unique status among his brothers.  The basic linkage is obvious: just as Efraim will achieve greater prominence than Menashe, just as the younger son will achieve through his merit the honor that his older sibling had initially been granted as an entitlement from birth, so too Yosef had earned Ya'acov's special attention by surpassing his brothers through effort.  Though by birth, Yosef was surely not Ya'acov's firstborn, he had nevertheless secured that singular honor by demonstrating characteristic responsibility through the physical deliverance of the family from famine as well as its spiritual rescue from ruin.  It was Yosef who had never forgotten them, it was Yosef who had reunited them, it was Yosef who had overcome his brothers' devastating estrangement to forgive, and to thus mend the tattered family to become whole again.  But what was the meaning of Ya'acov's concluding words, the reference to the Amorite and weapons of war?

 

 

RASHI'S READING

 

Rashi (11^th century, France) provides us with two possible readings of the verse, but on the surface, both seem somewhat forced.  We will consider his first explanation:

 

Because you exert yourself to attend to my imminent burial, I grant you also an inheritance for your interment.  What would this be?  This would be the town of Shechem, as the verse states: "in Shechem they buried the bones of Yosef that they had brought out of Egypt…" (Yehoshua 24:32).  In other words, Shechem itself will constitute the extra measure that I extend to you more than to your brothers. 

 

Concerning the reference to the sword and the bow, Rashi remarks (now quoting an earlier Midrash Bereishit Rabbah 80:10):

 

When Shim'on and Levi decimated the people of Shechem, all of the surrounding peoples gathered to fight them, and Ya'acov himself donned weapons and defeated them!

 

For Rashi then, the theme of death and interment that so preoccupies Ya'acov's thoughts now, is also the thrust of his remarks to Yosef.  Linking these final two verses, Rashi understands that Ya'acov here reassures his son Yosef that he too will merit burial in Canaan's coveted earth, namely in the shadow of the town of Shechem, the natural analog in the northern hill country to the cave of Machpela nestled among the southern hills of Chevron.  The "Shechem" of the verse is therefore the town of that name, rather than an expression of "measure," and Ya'acov himself, claims Rashi, had secured the location as his own by battling the Amorites in the aftermath of Shim'on and Levi's indiscretion (see Bereishit 34:25-31; 35:5). 

 

According to Rashi, we are to read the verses as containing a single idea, a guarantee to Yosef that his own earthly remains will not be abandoned in Egypt but will be borne back home: "Yisrael said to Yosef: behold, I now die, but the Lord will be with you and will return you to the land of your forefathers.  As for me, I gave you a measure ("shechem" in the original Hebrew) more than your brothers, that which I seized from the Amorites with my sword and with my bow!" (48:21-22).  Though Rashi's explanation would have benefited from verse 21 being phrased in the singular, for it then would have constituted a direct reference to Yosef's "return to the land of HIS forefathers," we note that the verse is in fact couched in the plural: "Yisrael said to Yosef: behold, I now die, but the Lord will be with you ("eemachem," rather than "eemcha") and will return you ("etchem," rather than "otcha") to the land of your forefathers ("avoteichem," rather than "avotecha").  Presumably, Rashi understands verse 21 as a reference to the people of Israel who will one day be restored to Canaan (long after Yosef's death).  At that time, they will take Yosef's remains with them and bury his bones at Shechem, the town that Ya'acov now assigns to him as his personal parting gift.

 

 

RASHI'S INTENT

 

Though Ya'acov's reported skirmish with the Amorites is not substantiated by the Biblical text, for it actually reports that the surrounding peoples were seized with a Divinely-inspired dread and did not attempt to pursue Ya'acov's family (see Bereishit 35:5), perhaps Rashi's exegetical intent is in fact somewhat different.  Recall that Ya'acov had been intensely displeased with the conduct of Shim'on and Levi at Shechem, though their intentions to save their sister Dinah and redeem her disgraced honor may have been above reproach.  By massacring the people of Shechem who had naively circumcised themselves at the deceitful behest of the brothers, Shim'on and Levi had not only brought disrepute to God's name but had also endangered the entire family who, vastly outnumbered by the surrounding Canaanites, could not have survived a reprisal attack.  Ya'acov's displeasure with their act can actually be gauged by his words to them in our own Parasha, for his so-called "blessing" to them is in fact anything but:

 

Shim'on and Levi are brothers, weapons of violence are their portion.  In their counsel let my soul not be counted, in their congregation let my glory not be united, for in their anger they killed men and with desire they crippled oxen.  May their anger be cursed for it was extreme, and their rage for it was harsh, I will divide them among Ya'acov and scatter them among Israel!" (49:5-7).

 

But, Rashi relates, Ya'acov himself had countered their rashness by opposing the Amorites in battle and then defeating them.  Thus, the disastrous consequences that could have easily materialized in the aftermath of Shim'on and Levi's debacle were forestalled by Ya'acov's direct intervention.  In a similar vein, Rashi may be intimating in his explanation to our verses, the brothers had attempted to destroy Yosef by selling him down to Egypt.  It is indeed significant that in that context, Rashi adopted the view that it was Shim'on and Levi who had been particularly active in the distressing cabal!  Commenting on Bereishit 42:24, Rashi remarks: "it was Shim'on who had cast Yosef into the pit.  He had said to Levi: 'behold, this master of dreams now approaches!  Come now, let us kill him…'"  But the plan of Shim'on and Levi had again been thwarted, this time not by Ya'acov's intervention but rather by God's guidance.  Yosef had been preserved in Egypt, had risen to prominence, had served as the instrument for his family's deliverance, and now attended his aged father on the eve of the latter's demise.  In effect, Shim'on and Levi did not succeed at all in breaking the bond between father and son!

 

But perhaps, nevertheless, their deed had unwittingly borne noxious fruits, for they had initiated the chain of events that had driven Yosef far away from Canaan never to return, for in Egypt he would in the end perish and there he would remain!  "Therefore," says Ya'acov according to Rashi's reassuring reading, "know Yosef that you WILL return to Canaan.  Just as you take pains to restore my remains to Machpela, so too your descendents will not leave you to be covered by Egypt's arid sand but will instead bring you back to Shechem, to the very place that I had sent you so many years earlier to seek your vengeful brother's welfare!" (see Bereishit 37:15). 

 

 

DECIDING THE OUTCOME

 

In effect, Rashi's remarks may therefore constitute a profound meditation on the works of men.  How they plot and plan, often driven by their frustrations to excess, convinced that they will surely succeed in the execution of their deed.  But how many great and small steps separate the scheme from its successful realization, how many unforeseen variables may yet effect the outcome!  Shim'on and Levi had attempted to separate Yosef from Ya'acov forever, to dispense with the hated dreamer and his enthusiastic pronouncements of power, to send him far away never to return.  In the end, all of their plans were overturned, for Yosef had been reunited with Ya'acov, had in the interim realized only too well his hated dreams of prominence, and was now assured, according to Rashi's reading, that even the final piece of the puzzle would be restored by Ya'acov to its rightful place.  To Shechem, Yosef would one day return, in the concluding upset of the brother's plan, while they would remain behind in Egypt to languish among its storied ruins forever.

 

With the conclusion of Sefer Bereishit, the tale of Yosef and his brothers ends, leaving us with some of the most inspiring ideas that the world has ever known.  But one notion in particular stands out among them.  While God calls upon us to choose, freely exercising our will in the seeking of the good and the right, He also guides our steps and decides the eventual outcome.  We follow His call or we ignore it, we embrace our destiny or we discard it, we realize our objective or we miss the mark, but every step of the colossal struggle that is human existence and human choice is informed by God's involvement and guided by His will.  For those that seek His presence, He is there, and though we may often labor to understand His ways we also submit that they are not random or capricious.  Yosef and his brothers embark on an odyssey that in the end transforms them all, mostly due to turns of events that are "unexpected" and "unforeseen," but not at all arbitrary.  With the greater spiritual sensitivity that eventually informs them all, Yosef in the closing verses is able to articulate the enduring truth: "though you thought to do me evil, God designed the good, for it was in order to preserve a great nation this very day!"

 

Shabbat Shalom